Archive for the ‘free’ Category

Beijing restores tax breaks and other perks for Chinese exporters. It’s worried that declining exports mean more social unrest.

By Jonathan Adams
The Christian Science Monitor

In recent years, China scrapped many of its export-friendly policies – a turn welcomed by foreign competitors as a step toward freer, fairer trade.

In typical style, Beijing did so incrementally, “crossing the river by feeling the stones,” as Deng Xiaoping is quoted as saying.

But now, with the economic downturn in full effect, China is scrambling back toward the riverbank. The government has reversed itself on tax rebates and other export-friendly policies, restoring perks it had only recently scrapped.

The latest tax rebate hikes, which take effect Jan. 1, will be doled out to exporters of motorcycles, sewing machines, industrial robots, and other goods, according to the China Daily.

Beijing’s about-face risks raising tensions with the US and other trade partners. Washington and others have long complained about China’s “unfair” trade policies and a flood of cheap Chinese imports. The US welcomed the 2007 elimination of some tax rebates as a sign of progress, only to see many of them now restored.

The Yangshan deep water port in Hangzhou Bay, south east of Shanghai. China’s trade surplus is likely to hit another record in 2008 despite woes caused by the global slowdown, the nation’s top economic planner has said.(AFP/File/Mark Ralston)